Fischer Boel launches farming blog

EU farm commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel showed she was moving with the
times on Monday, launching a blog on her website.

Her first comment focuses on the need to embrace
globalisation and the "huge opportunities" it offers "our excellent farmers and
food companies".

EU advantagesFisher Boel acknowledges that "it is more
expensive to produce food in Europe than in Brazil," but emphasises the EU's
advantages: "Unequalled standards of animal welfare, environmental protection
and food safety; internationally-renowned products with long histories behind
them; huge expertise in marketing and promotion." "The need to add value, focus
on quality and win new markets will be uppermost in my mind when I visit India
in March with a group of top executives from the European food industry," adds
the Commissioner.

She concludes:
"I'm often asked what my motto is. The answer is
simple: Quality, quality, quality!" Whether the responses she gets to her postings
follow this maxim remains to be seen.